Dry Storage as an Aid in Selection for Longevity in Gerbera

Flowers of 23. varieties of gerbera were dry stored for 24 and 48 hours. The structural strength and turgor strength of the stem was separately measured using parameter like total voids, per cent inner conduit,.porosity and void ratio. The varieties were classified into three groups based on their bend and recovery. Probable crossing programme between class I and class II flowers was suggested to achieve structurally strong stems with high water absorption capacity. The character ‘per cent inner conduit’ was found to be governed by dominant and epistatic genes. Water absorption is found to be directly related to ‘per cent inner conduit and hence considered as important character for selecting a variety for long transportation. Correlation studies indicated that by providing better environment like puncturing the stem, cutting of stem and keeping the stem in warm water helps in high absorption of water, which in turn helps the flower stalk to come to normal position after dry storage.